New from CFZ Press - Glen Vaudrey's The Northern Isles

Mystery animals? Great Britain? Surely not.

These are not phrases which would normally be thought of in the same sentence. But it is true.

The zoogeography of the British Isles is not as hard and fast as one would have imagined; there are mystery big cats, sea monsters, strangely coloured variants of well known species, animals only known from a handful of specimens or even less, and a body of evidence to suggest that entire new species await discovery.

The Fortean zoology of these islands is even more impressive, with dragons, monsters, ghostly animals and weird animal folklore. For the first time, all these subjects are being gathered together under one, somewhat eccentric, roof.

The Mystery Animals of the British Isles is a major new series from CFZ Press, the publishing arm of the world's largest mystery animals research organisation. It will cover Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, on a county by county basis, describing the mystery animals of the entire island group.

Glen Vaudrey at the Weird Weekend 2011

The mastermind behind the CFZ's game camera drive for this year's Sumatra Expedition, Glen Vaudrey, explored the mythology of the Scottish water horse, also known as the Kelpie, at this year's Weird Weekend.

In folklore, Water Horses are described as being very similar to a long-necked seal. They are described as having a small head attached to a long giraffe-like neck with an equine mane (occasionally covered in hair) and having two sets of flippers, the rear pair at the very end of the body, giving the impression of a seal-like tail. Its body length ranges from 50–60 feet and the neck is 70 feet long.

Sound familiar? Think Nessie, Ogopogo, Champ and Morag, to name a few of the famous 'water monsters' that have found fame over the years.

Watch on...